


Blood and Glitter

by ZadieWrites



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Also cops are mentioned at one point and just to be clear, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Ghost!Ygraine, Ghosts, Good Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Blood, Modern AU, Teenage Arthur, This was supposed to be far more straightforward, but like basically, i mean she might not be a literal ghost, i’m totally acab it’s just one line for narrative purposes, unbetaed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZadieWrites/pseuds/ZadieWrites
Summary: When Uther’s 16 year old son comes home late at night, covered in blood, he helps clean him up.Oh, and sometimes he sees the ghost of his dead wife.
Relationships: Arthur Pendragon & Uther Pendragon (Merlin)
Kudos: 24





	Blood and Glitter

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a simple hurt/comfort and then I really liked the idea of Uther pulling a John Watson so now you get this.

Uther had tried to work while he waited for Arthur to get home but he just ended up watching the clock on the laptop in front of him switch from 2:59 am to 3:00 am. Though, truthfully, he was no stranger to these hours of the night, ever since his wife passed away. 

“You don’t sleep well, do you?” A familiar voice questioned from beside him.

_Speak of the fucking devil._

Uther didn’t turn to look at her. He didn’t need to anymore. 

“I haven’t since you died.” He confessed. 

Ygraine’s ghost chuckled from her place on the couch beside him. “You really are hopeless.” 

“. . . besides, I can’t sleep until I know our son is okay.” 

“Our son?” 

“You’ll always be his mother to me.”

“You didn’t impregnate me, I’m a fragment of your imagination. Granted, I didn’t think you had one of those before I came along. Well, done, Uther.” She taunted.

If he were to look at her, he would see she looked like Ygraine, but . . . had skin that was paler and just slightly translucent. It showed the bones, the veins, and every pulsing organ beneath. If you were paying attention. Her eyes were sunken, her blonde hair almost glowed. She’d show herself to him every once in a while for the last 16 years, but her visits had . . . increased in frequency lately. 

She was often cold and vicious in her remarks, and while Ygraine, when she was alive, had a side to her that was like this . . . it wasn’t shown to Uther as often. 

“Stop talking.” He asked her.

The ghost clicked her tongue. “You spend a lot of time worrying about the boy. Don’t you?” 

“He does things that are worrying.” 

Around that time the door opened and Uther heard Arthur stumble into the kitchen. He got up and went to his son, leaving the ghost in the living room. Arthur couldn’t see it, anyway. Probably a good thing. 

“Arthur . . .” He breathed.

Uther’s son was a mess, there was blood coming from his lip, nose and eyebrow, he was wearing eyeliner that was starting to streak down his cheeks and dry into flakes, and he was covered in what appeared to be . . . glitter. The jacket he’d been wearing was off him, leaving a torn t-shirt and muddy jeans.

“What happened to you? Do I even want to know?” Uther asked him, incredulously.

“Definitely not.” Arthur responded, starting to walk past him.

“Well-Arthur-come here. Let me clean you up at least.” 

There was a pause between them. Arthur seemed a bit uncomfortable with the idea. Their relationship was not a traditionally affectionate one, in fact, sometimes their relationship was outright bad. 

“. . . okay, but you’re not taking me to a hospital right now.” 

“I’ll only do that if something’s broken.”

Arthur reluctantly agreed and let Uther lead him to the bathroom. Uther tried to ignore the glimpse of phosphorous blonde hair in the bathroom mirror, as he opened the medicine cabinet to pull out the things he needed to help the boy.

Arthur pulled down the toilet seat lid and sat down on it. Uther turned on the sink, took a washcloth and held it under the water. He gently lifted Arthur’s chin and started dabbing the cloth against his skin. Blood and glitter and makeup started to come free and drip down his face in muddy trails. 

“I have to ask, why the glitter?” Uther said, quietly, as he cleaned the boy up.

“. . . originally me and a friend bought some glitter and thought it would be funny. And then we got . . . a little carried away. I know you probably think I’m really foolish.” 

“. . . a bit. But it’s okay.” He said, rubbing off the eyeliner, which didn’t come off easy.

He finished cleaning Arthur’s face and then getting out gauze, tape and band-aids for the actual wounds.

“You’re not mad about . . . any of this?” Arthur asked.

“If I was, wouldn’t you know it?”

“. . . I suppose.”

“I was concerned about you, though. You didn’t answer my calls. If you’d been gone for much longer, I probably would have called the police.” The man responded, dabbing Arthur’s cuts with rubbing alcohol.

Arthur whimpered in pain. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay. You’re grounded. But it’s okay.” 

Arthur winced as Uther taped a band-aid to his split eyebrow. “Yeah I figured that, I guess . . .”

“Where did the blood come from?” He asked, taping up a little cut just below Arthur’s lip.

“. . . I got in a fight. Like always.”

“Did you win?” 

“. . . yeah.” replied Arthur, letting his bloody mouth twist into a smirk. 

After a while, Arthur’s injuries were bandaged up and his face was cleaner. You could at least see his face underneath the mess.

“I’ll always love you.” Uther assured the boy as he was leaving the bathroom.

“Even if I come home every night at three in the morning covered in blood and glitter?” Arthur laughed a bit.

“Yes, but please don’t, my heart can’t take it.”

“Noted.” Then he left.

“. . . I might not see myself as his mother. But all things considered, I think you’re doing an alright job with him.” Uther heard Ygraine’s voice say, in a tone that was softer than her usual biting banter.

“. . . I do it for you.” Uther told her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, as always, I know this fic is like a bit weird but please be nice I’m a very fragile person.


End file.
